Commission Regulation (EC) No 356/2005 of 1 March 2005 laying down detailed rules for the marking and identification of passive fishing gear and beam trawls
Date: 2005-03-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU waters, fishing controls, fishing net, fishing vessel, technical standard

L 56/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

2.3.2005

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 356/2005

of 1 March 2005

laying down detailed rules for the marking and identification of passive fishing gear and beam
trawls

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Article 2

Scope

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

This Regulation shall

1.
Community waters.

apply

to vessels

fishing

in

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of
12 October 1993 establishing a control system applicable to
the common fisheries policy (1), and in particular Articles 5(c)
and 20a(3) thereof,

2.
This Regulation shall not apply within the 12 nautical
miles measured from the base lines of the Coastal Member
State.

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

limitations of

The monitoring and inspection of fishing activities,
in
particular of certain technical conservation measures,
specifying inter alia, mesh sizes,
fishing
times and other characteristics of passive fishing gear is
necessary. For this purpose,
the fishing gear used by
fishing vessels should be easy to identify and to check.
In order to ensure compliance with those requirements,
detailed rules should be laid down for the marking and
in
identification
Community waters.

utilised

certain

fishing

gear

of

for a proper implementation of the
It is appropriate,
present regulation, that the use of fishing gears which
does not comply with the requirements it lays down is
prohibited, as well as the carrying on board of gears
which do not comply with certain provisions of
the
Regulation.

(3)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
the Management
accordance with the opinion of
Committee for Fishery and Aquaculture,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions
shall apply:

(a)

‘passive gear’ means:

(i)

longlines;

(ii) gillnets, entangling nets, trammel nets, drifting gillnets
which may consist of one or more separate nets which
are rigged with top, bottom and connecting ropes, and
may be equipped with anchoring, floating and naviga-
tional gear;

(b) ‘beam trawls’ mean trawls which are towed from outrigger

booms.

Article 4

Prohibition

1.
It shall be prohibited to use for fishing passive gear, buoys
and beam trawls which are not marked and identifiable in
accordance with the provisions of this Regulation.

2.

It shall be prohibited to carry on board:

(a) beams of a beam trawl which do not display the external
in accordance with
and numbers

registration letters
Article 5;

This Regulation lays down detailed rules for the marking and
identification of passive fishing gear and beam trawls.

(b) passive gear which is not

labelled in accordance with

Article 7;

(1) OJ L 261, 20.10.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1954/2003 (OJ L 289, 7.11.2003, p. 1).

(c) buoys which are not marked in accordance with Article 10.

2.3.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 56/9

CHAPTER II

BEAM TRAWLS

Article 5

CHAPTER IV

BUOYS

Article 9

Responsibilities concerning beam trawls

Responsibilities concerning buoys

The master of a fishing vessel or his representative shall ensure
that each assembled beam of a beam trawl carried on board or
used for fishing shall clearly display the external registration
letters and numbers of the vessel to which they belong on
the beam or shoes of each beam.

The master of a fishing vessel or his representative shall ensure
that two end marker buoys and intermediary marker buoys,
rigged in accordance with the Annex, are fixed to each
passive gear used for fishing and are deployed in accordance
with the provisions of this Chapter.

CHAPTER III

PASSIVE GEAR

Article 6

Responsibilities concerning passive gear

The master of a fishing vessel or his representative shall ensure
that each passive gear — carried on board or used for fishing is
in accordance with the
clearly marked and identifiable,
provisions of this Chapter.

Article 10

Display of identification

1.
Each end marker buoy and intermediary buoy shall
display the external registration letters and numbers displayed
on the hull of the vessel to which they belong as follows:

Article 7

Display of identification

(a)

letters and numbers shall be displayed as high above the
water as possible so as to be clearly visible;

Each passive gear used for fishing shall permanently display the
external registration letters and numbers displayed on the hull
of the vessel to which they belong:

(a) on a label attached to the upper first row at both ends of

each passive gear;

(b) for passive gear extending more than one nautical mile, on
labels attached to the upper first row of the passive gear at
regular intervals not exceeding one nautical mile so that no
part of the passive gear extending more than one nautical
mile shall be left unmarked.

Article 8

Labels

1.

Each label shall be:

(a) made of durable material;

(b) securely fitted to the gear;

(c) at least 65 millimetres broad;

(d) at least 75 millimetres long.

(b) in a colour contrasting with the surface on which they are

displayed.

The letters and numbers displayed on the marker buoy

2.
shall not be effaced, altered or allowed to become illegible.

Article 11

Cords

The cords linking the buoys to the passive gear shall be of

1.
submersible material, or shall be weighted down.

The cords linking the end marker buoys to each gear shall

2.
be fixed at the ends of that gear.

Article 12

End marker buoys

The letters and numbers displayed on each label shall not

2.
be effaced, altered or allowed to become illegible.

End marker buoys shall be deployed so that each end of

1.
the gear may be determined at any time.

L 56/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

2.3.2005

The mast of each end marker buoy shall have a height of
2.
at least 1,5 metres above the sea level measured from the top of
the float.

End marker buoys shall be coloured, but may not be red

3.
or green.

4.

Each end marker buoy shall include:

(a) one or two rectangular flag(s) whose side measures at least
40 centimetres; where two flags are required on the same
buoy, the distance between them shall be at least 20 centi-
metres; the distance between the water and the first flag
shall be at least 80 centimetres; flags indicating the extre-
mities of the same net shall be of the same colour, which
may not be white, and of the same size;

(b) one or two lights, which shall be yellow and give one flash
each five-second (F1 Y5s) and be visible from a distance of
at least two nautical miles;

(c) a top sign on the top of the buoy which shall be a sphere of
a diameter of at least 25 centimetres topped with one or
two luminous band which shall be neither red nor green
and shall be at least 6 centimetres broad. A spherical radar
reflector may be used as the mark on top of the buoy;

(d) radar reflectors giving an echo of at least two nautical miles.

Article 13

Fixing of end marker buoys

End marker buoys shall be fixed to passive gear in the following
way:

(a)

the buoy in the western sector (meaning the half compass
circle from south through west to and including north) shall
be rigged with two flags, two striped luminous bands, two
lights and a label in accordance with Article 8;

(b) the buoy in the eastern sector (meaning the half compass
circle from north through east to and including the south)
shall be rigged with one flag one striped luminous band,
one light and a label in accordance with Article 8.

The label shall contain the information contained in Article 10.

Article 14

Intermediary marker buoys

Intermediary marker buoys shall be fixed to passive gear

1.
extending more than 1 nautical mile.

2.
Intermediary marker buoys shall be deployed at distances
of not more than 1 nautical mile so that no part of the gear
extending 1 nautical mile or more shall be left unmarked.

Intermediary marker buoys shall have the same character-
3.
istics as those of the end marker buoy in the eastern sector
except for the following:

(a)

the flags shall be white;

(b) every fifth intermediary marker buoys shall be fitted with a
radar reflector giving an echo at least two nautical miles.

CHAPTER V

FINAL PROVISION

Article 15

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day
following its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Union.

It shall apply from 1 October 2005.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 1 March 2005.

For the Commission

Joe BORG
Member of the Commission

2.3.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 56/11

S
Y
O
U
B

R
E
K
R
A
M
Y
R
A
D
E
M
R
E
T
N

I

I

X
E
N
N
A

D
N
A

R
E
K
R
A
M
D
N
E

F
O

S
C
I
T
S
I
R
E
T
C
A
R
A
H
C